Tapping a Saginaw Steering Box for hydraulic assist
(A Pictorial)
After ordering my hydro assist stuff the other day, I figured it would be a good idea to tap a steering box that already has problems so I don’t mess up my good one (when I get one).
After it was all said and done, I have to agree that it is pretty easy. It probably took me 1.5 hours, but I was taking my time, and could probably have done it quicker. However, there are a few places you need to be careful…..not to mention the problem with keeping all the metal shavings out of the box (there are A LOT of them!).
Here’s some pictures.
pilot holes
7/16″ started
top hole drilled…the toughest part of this one is not hitting the worm gear. Unfortunately, when my drill broke through, I managed to nick the worm gear a bit and put a small mark into it. I doubt it would cause any problems, but I am going to try and be even more careful when I do the box I plan to use.
both hole drilled
then just tap them with the 1/4″ NPT
Anyways, a magnet helps a lot to keeping the metal shavings out of the box, but there are a lot of them and they get all over the place.